"So, ready for this?" Kasha asks, standing before the tall, blue and red painted building. The Alamar League symbol- a Pokéball inside a star –hangs above the door.
"I think so, at least as ready as I'll ever be," I reply. I'm shaking with nervous energy, but I have to try at least. Tikeri pushes me forward towards the door.
"Come on Rin, we've got no time to lose!" he whines. Kasha laughs at him and Guy smiles.
"All right, all right. Don't get your tail in a knot, I'm going!" I grab Kasha's hand and head towards the door. "We might as well get this over with." Right as I reach it, the door whooshes open and a person step out. My face plants itself in her collarbone and she yelps.
"Watch it!" She shouts. I scramble back and look up into a very irritated face. Bright blue eyes stare me down and make me feel even smaller than I already am.
"I-I'm sorry, we w-were-"
"Why don't you watch it Shorty?" Kasha challenges. She crosses her arms and stares down the girl. The girl flips her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder and very rudely pushes past me.
"I highly doubt you can beat the Gym Leaders with that rag tag group of Pokémon," She says snottily. "Though watching you fail might be fun." I examine the rude girl, she commands attention like a flame attracts Mothim. She holds herself very confidently, almost like the way Kasha does. Her hair has two streaks in it, red on the left and blue on the right. Her cropped jean jacket covers a pink, low-cut shirt. I wonder how she's not freezing in her purple mini-skirt, though her grey knee high boots look fairly warm. An Eevee sits on her shoulder, obviously well taken care of by the shine of its fur.
"Yeah, you keep believing that," Kasha snorts.
"You're Lilly Breckenridge!" Guy shouts suddenly. "I know you from that old sitcom!" Lilly smiles brightly, flashing such white teeth that I think I might go blind.
"Hello tall, blonde and handsome," She drawls, switching moods in the blink of an eye. "It's always nice to meet a fan. Where are you headed?" Guy blushes and starts stammering.
"W-well I w-was going to g-g-go watch m-my friends' b-battle…" He stutters as Lilly cuddles up to him. Guy is bright as a tomato, obviously enamored with this rude girl.
"Oh, you don't want to do that do you? Why don't we go somewhere and have lunch." She flutters her lashes at Guy, making me roll my eyes in exasperation. I never liked flirts. They're so arrogant and annoying. Three girls in Eira used to do it all the time when they got bored.
"I-I-I," Guy stammers before Kasha yanks him away from Lilly.
"Sorry Princess, he's got plans," she says. "Maybe when Hell freezes over." Lilly pouts and turns her back on us.
"Fine, I don't need to date a geek anyway," she huffs. "I'm outta here." With that, she heads downtown, to the Pokémon Center most likely.
"Hey!" Guy yells. "What if I wanted to go to lunch with her?" Kasha snorts and shakes her head.
"Sweetie, girls like that only go out with nice guys like you so they don't have to pay for themselves," Kasha says. "Didn't you see how easily she dumped you when I butted in? Trust me, you're better off without her."
"How do you know her?" I ask, still in the dark about her identity.
"Really? She used to be the star of 'It's Sunny with Solrock'. It was pretty popular all over, I can't believe you don't know it." I shrug. We didn't get many stations, mostly just news and basic stuff like static.
"I guess you did live pretty far north," Kasha adds. "Oh well, let's go! We've got badges to win!" She drags me through the door, leaving Guy behind in our dust.
The inside of the Gym is something I never could have imagined. The field of battle is surrounded by a moat of deep blue water with seaweed and reeds on the sides. The field itself is pockmarked with rocks and grass, like some abandoned ruin.
"Hello!" Kasha calls out. "We're here to challenge the Gym!" The yell echoes into silence, no one calling back for an answer.
"You think they're here?" I ask.
"Well, Lilly just came from in here, so maybe they're taking care of their Pokémon," Guy shrugs. "We can always come later…"
"No way José!" Kasha says. "We're here for a challenge and we're going to get one. Hey! Anyone here?!"
"Hold your Ponyta! We're coming!" I hear a voice shout back. From the other side of the huge room, a door slides open and two kids step out. The first is a girl who looks about eighteen. She has long blonde hair and intimidating ocean blue eyes. She has nothing on but a red one piece suit and a blue sports jacket hanging mostly open on top of it.
The next is a guy that could very possibly be her brother, not by looks, but by the way he dresses. His outfit is similar with just a pair of swim trunks and a black jacket with a tight orange shirt underneath. His shorts are blue with orange flames and his jacket is decorated with flames of azure. His hair is short and brown, combed over to one side, away from his orange eyes.
"The second one today already," the guy says calmly.
"Why can't people wait for a day or something," the girl whines. "Listen guys, we're glad you wanted to challenge us, but we just got done kicking that other girl's butt, so maybe tomorrow."
"Aqua, you know the rules," the guy scolds. "League regulations say that we have to accept all challenges. This is exactly why we have so many Pokémon with us." Aqua pouts.
"Fine, Cinder! But you owe me lunch if they lose," Aqua says. Guy starts to snicker.
"This is what I told you about earlier," he says to us quietly.
"Hey! I know you!" Aqua shouts. "You were here, like, a week ago! We already gave you your badge."
"I'm just here for support this time," Guy answers. Cinder smiles.
"That's nice, I wouldn't want to battle you again after I got my ass handed to me the first time." I like Cinder, he's a pretty chill guy. "You mind if we gather spectators? The last girl didn't want too and Aqua's just itching to show off."
"Am not!" She shouts back. "Okay, yeah I am. So can we?" I look at Kasha and shrug.
"Sure why not?" She says. Aqua jumps excitedly and runs out the door.
"She'll be back in… like ten minutes. What Pokémon are you using?" Cinder asks.
"Only if you show us yours," Kasha says, getting a small laugh out of Guy. I shove my elbow into his gut, but he acts like nothing happened.
"Yes, but we need to know how powerful of Pokémon to use. You wouldn't want to go up against Aqua's Gyarados if you've only got a Wurmple. It's supposed to be challenging, not impossible."
"Makes sense," Kasha nods, then throws her Pokéballs into the air. Shade and Current look ready for battle already.
"Wow, those two look strong. What about you…um, what are your names?" I laugh at our total skip over introductions.
"Reena Frost, but call me Rin. That's Kasha. How many Pokémon can we use?" Cinder blinks, like he never thought of it.
"Well, I suppose since Kasha has only two, then we'll all use two."
"Okay. Then I'm using Tikeri and Eve," I gesture to my Pokémon by my feet.
"Sounds good. Now all we have to do is wait for Aqua to get back with her usual crowd." It's not ten minutes before people start filing in through the doors, taking their seats in the stands. Aqua must be quite the talker to get so many people here in just a few minutes. The bleachers are full by the time Aqua strides back through the doors. Guy takes Winter from me and goes to join the crowd in the stands.
"Okay, now we've got the perfect atmosphere!" Aqua shouts over the excited jabbering of the crowd. "Are you two ready?"
"You bet we are! We're going to kick your butts into next Tuesday," Kasha says, rarin' to go and still as dauntless as ever. Aqua grins widely and looks over Kasha's and my Pokémon before sharing a look with Cinder.
"Would you like to start, or shall I?" Cinder asks. Aqua replies by pulling a pokéball out of her jacket pocket and throwing it in the air.
"Panpour, let's get going!" Aqua's little blue monkey takes center stage, jumping up and down a few times in excitement.
"Pansear, let's show them who's best," Cinder says, throwing out his own monkey, though his is red and sleepier than Panpour.
"Current, you're up!" Kasha's Skarmory flits to the battlefield, intimidating as Kasha is confident. I look down at my two battlers.
"Eve, you're up first," I tell her and she dashes out to stand next to Current. A referee stands at the half-way mark and raises a green flag to grab everyone's attention.
"This battle between the Leaders and Challengers shall consist of two Pokémon each. One side will win only when all Pokémon of one side are unable to battle. There are no substitutions and no healing allowed. Let the battle begin!" He waves his flag to signal the start. Kasha wastes no time in ordering Current to use Agility and she starts flying left and right, her speed increasing each time.
"Eve, Tail Whip!" I order and Eve waves her tail in front of the monkeys, entrancing them into lowering their defenses.
"Panpour, snap out of it and use Lick!" Aqua shouts.
"Pansear, Incinerate on Skarmory," Cinder says calmly. Panpour drags her tongue over Eve's face, disgusting the both of us, though it doesn't do much damage considering it's a ghost-type move. Before Pansear can fire off an Incinerate, Kasha orders Current to use Swift, nailing the red monkey with shining stars.
"Eve, Quick Attack!" Eve bursts toward Panpour, slamming her body into the tiny blue monkey. Panpour cries out but picks herself out of the dirt.
"Current, let's get Pansear with Fury Attack." Current goes in to peck at Pansear, but Cinder quickly orders him to dodge and use Incinerate again. The flames hit Current's wings, making their metal surface flash in their intensity.
"Eve, quick we've got to help Current. Faint Attack!" Eve rushes towards Pansear, but Aqua orders Panpour to keep us busy. Eve is hit with Panpour's Scald and she growls.
"You're not getting away that easy," Aqua taunts. "Panpour, Lick again."
"Eve, Bite!" When Panpour tries to Lick Eve's face again, she receives a surprise when Eve bites down hard on her tongue. Panpour's eyes bulge out in astonishment and so do Aqua's.
"That's cheating!" Aqua yells. I smile, feeling triumphant already.
"Eve, throw her at Pansear!" Eve grins as she whips Panpour around her head, shooting the blue monkey straight into the red. "It's not cheating if it wasn't banned in the first place." Aqua's face turns a bright shade of red, matching her swimsuit. Cinder laughs, but tries to cover it with a cough. Aqua's glare could melt stone.
"She got ya there, sis. Pansear, shake it off and use Scratch on the Umbreon!" Pansear throws off his companion and lunges at Eve, barely missing as she rolls to the side, only to get hit with Panpour's Scald. Their teamwork is outstanding, each covering for one another when they need it the most. Though, I have noticed that it's Cinder that's doing most of the retaliating. Aqua is trying to take us down with her brute strength.
"Current! Air Cutter!" Kasha orders, pointing at Pansear. Current's wings glow white as she slashes toward the red monkey, sending blades of air at him.
"Eve, Quick Attack!" I yell. She nods before streaking towards Panpour. The air blades hit Pansear and Panpour both, knocking them back a few feet. Before Panpour can regain her balance, Eve smashes into her and knocks her out. Pansear tries to scratch Eve with a Fury Attack, but Current swoops in to save the day with a Swift attack. Now Pansear is down for the count.
"Yeah!" Kasha yells. "High-five!" I slap her upheld hand and beam at her. Two down, two to go. Eve still looks rarin' to go, though she is breathing pretty heavily.
"Eve, you okay for round two?" I shout to her. She turns to me with an elated smile.
"Good to go! Let's show them who's boss." I give her a thumbs up, ready for the next two Pokémon that Cinder and Aqua have.
"You two are an impressive team," Cinder compliments.
"Don't think you're gonna win so easily!" Aqua shouts. She throws out her next Pokémon, a Marshtomp. Cinder laughs and follows suit, sending out a Monferno. This won't be good for either of us. Current is weak to fire and Eve is weak to fighting-type attacks.
"Current, Air cutter!" Kasha goes for Monferno's weakness quickly. But the monkey dodges out of the way.
"Monferno, Mach Punch please," Cinder orders. The orange Pokémon gathers light in his fist and lunges at a blinding speed towards Eve. I can't even tell her to dodge before she is sent flying by the hit. She lands with a thud, unable to continue. I recall her to her Poké ball, thanking her for her hard work before I look to Tikeri.
"Ready Tikeri?" I ask. He snorts a bit of fire before dashing out to the field.
"Marshtomp, Water gun!" Aqua's Pokémon inhales deeply before shooting a stream of water at Tikeri. He jumps out of the way just in time. He and I will have to be careful if we're to beat Aqua's double advantage.
"Tikeri, Bite on Monferno!" Tikeri clamps his jaws down on Monferno's arm, making him flinch harshly.
"Current, Fury Attack!" Current jabs her beak at Marshtomp repeatedly before Aqua orders a close range Water gun, bringing down the metal bird. Kasha recalls Current and sends in Shade. He takes the stage proudly in the midst of the shouting and cheering audience.
"Down to our last," I comment. Kasha winks at me.
"This is where we test our mettle. Shade, Slash!" Shade's horn glows bright white as he charges Marshtomp. Marshtomp takes the hit like a champ and shoves Shade off of her.
"Tikeri, Helping Hand!" Tikeri's paws glow in a pastel colored light and he transfers the energy to Shade's body. Shade smiles.
"Marshtomp, into the water!" Aqua orders. With surprising speed, Marshtomp dives into the moat surrounding the field. Now we can't see where she'll attack from.
"Monferno, Ember on the Absol!" Cinder orders directly. Monferno expels a blast of embers at Absol. I smile, finally getting the chance to show off a little.
"Tikeri, you're up!" I shout. He smiles and jumps in front of Shade. It seems the Ember attack will hit, but before it can, Tikeri swallows the little flames. Both Cinder and Aqua look stupefied.
"WHAT?!" Aqua shouts. "What was that?! That has to be cheating!" Tikeri licks his lips and burps up a bit of the flames.
"Tikeri's ability is Flash Fire. He takes no damage from fire based attacks and uses their energy to power up his own attacks," I explain like a schoolteacher. "We learned it on the way here."
Cinder starts laughing, grabbing his stomach. Kasha and Aqua both exchange surprised looks. When we learned it, she was a bit busy battling a Trainer herself.
"Tikeri, let's show him a Flame Wheel!" I order the new move we learned when we discovered how much Tikeri liked the taste of fire. Tikeri runs and leaps into the air, surrounding himself with an aura of fire before he starts rolling towards Monferno. He doesn't have any time to dodge before Tiekri slams into his stomach, propelling him backwards. Though, being a fire-type attack, it didn't do as much damage as I was hoping.
"Marshtomp, Mud Shot!" Aqua orders. Marshtomp jumps out of the water just long enough to spit a wad of high-speed mud at Shade before she dives back into the water.
"Monferno, Scratch," Cinder shouts. Monferno starts dragging his claws down Tikeri's side and I order him to retreat. That monkey's speed is nothing to be trifled with.
"Marshtomp, Mud Slap!" Marshtomp jumps from the water again to throw mud at both Tikeri and Shade. She repeats this again and again, littering the field with mud and holes. Tikeri's fur is all dirty and Shade looks like he rolled around in the muck.
"Shade, Pursuit!" Kasha instructs. Shade darts towards the water and right as Marshtomp is about to fire another Mud Slap, he slams his faintly glowing body into her, blasting her back onto the field. Tikeri's Helping Hand earlier made it hurt all the worse.
"Monferno, Mach Punch!" Monferno lunges at Tikeri.
"Tikeri, Bite!" Tikeri's teeth close around Monferno's fist at the last second, pinning him to the ground. "Now, Flame Wheel!" Tikeri smirks as he surrounds himself of flames again, rolling over Monferno again and again as he keeps the monkey's fist in his jaws.
"Shade, Double Team!" Shade splits off into multiple ghost copies. Aqua looks panicked as she orders a wide sweeping Mud shot. Most of the doubles jump as Shade does, avoiding the mud entirely. Shade goes in for a Slash attack, his copies making it impossible to see which one is the real one.
"Tikeri, release!" Tikeri stops spinning and catapults Monferno into Marshtomp. Both hit the floor with a thud, but they both stand up again, looking worse for the wear.
"Kasha, let's wrap this up." She smiles widely.
"Shade, Slash at full power!" Shades horn glows blindingly and seems to grow in its light.
"Tikeri, Flame Wheel!" Tikeri immediately leaps into action.
"Monferno, get out of there!" Cinder orders desperately.
"Marshtomp, into the water!" Aqua yells, panic edging her voice.
"Don't let her!" Kasha orders Shade.
Tikeri and Shade race across the field, forking off to their respective opponents. Before Marshtomp can dive for the water, Shade's glowing horn slices the Pokémon, dropping her to the floor. Tikeri scored a direct hit on Monferno, launching him back towards his Trainer, out cold. Neither of them get back up.
"That's the match!" the ref yells. "With each of the Leaders' Pokémon unable to continue, the challengers win!"
Kasha and I both scream like schoolgirls, jumping up and down in our excitement. Aqua's face distorts into a snarl as she recalls her Marshtomp. Cinder smiles ruefully as he recalls his partner.
"Congratulations, you girls did it!" Guy says, bringing back Winter with a large smile on his face. "That was really impressive. It took me nearly an hour to beat Aqua's Marshtomp even with Woody's grass-type advantage."
"You did wonderfully," Winter purrs. I scratch her ear and bend down to Tikeri.
"That was amazing Tikeri," I compliment. He barks happily, no meaning to it other than to express his joy.
"NO! They cheated!" Aqua's voice resounds through the crowded place.
"Aqua, it's the rules. Don't be such a baby about it." Cinder looks like he's trying his best to calm his sister down, but if I know Aqua from our interaction, she isn't going to calm down soon.
"I refuse," Aqua snaps before stomping to the back of the Gym, through the doors. Cinider sighs and almost scowls after his sister. The ref taps him on the shoulder and points to us. He drags a hand down his face and takes a deep breath, putting on a more amiable expression before walking over.
"You two were one of the most fun challengers I've had in a long while. Aqua too." Guy made a sound of indignation. "You were too strategic to be fun." Guy pouts.
"So, what happened with her?" Kasha asks bluntly. Cinder shrugs.
"She's never been a gracious loser. But at least I don't need her permission to give you these." He hands Kasha and I badges. It has a small, blue crystal in the center of an orange flame with little, almost clear clouds rising from it. "This is the Steam Badge. Your first badge is something to be treasured, so enjoy the memories."
"Thank you Cinder. You were amazing as well." He smiles and salutes us with his first two fingers.
"Your next stop should be Somerset, then you could double back and go to Rissu and Quetalo. Tell Dalena and Muhanned we say hi when you challenge them. They're the Leaders of the Somerset Gym." I nod and put the badge in my case.
"Well, we should be off," Kasha says, grabbing my wrist. "We'll have to get all our necessities if we're going to Somerset. Bye Cinder! Thanks for the challenge!" She pulls me out of the Gym with the crowd of people leaving. A few congratulate us as we pass. Guy finds it hilarious when a child asks Kasha why her hair is white. She just punches him in the gut.
"Let's go, you two," I laugh, "before we get lost in the city in the dark." Sunset was still a while off, but Marn was a large place.
Articuno laughed to herself as the two children battled against the two, only slightly older children. She could see the promise in both of them, but the smaller one with the white hair drew her attention the most. Every hit her own Pokémon took, she winced. Such empathy was not common in young Trainers, or anyone really.
When they won, Articuno made up her mind. She would ask the Pokémon she knew to keep an eye on this 'Reena Frost'. Maybe if she could contact one of the Rovers… No. she shook away the thought. The Rovers were already busy. This region was going to have such a nice surprise, and soon.
Though, she wondered about the child. It wasn't impossible that she could be a Bond Child. But, born in a region with no Legends for itself yet, it was nigh impossible. The Rovers didn't stray this far east and even Lugia didn't guard these seas. So then why could the child see her? Only Bond Children could see the Legendaries when they were disguised.
A young man caught Articuno's eye. He was scanning the crowd as if looking for something, something important. His mismatched eyes intrigued Articuno. They seemed to weigh tons with the weight of whatever problems he was holding inside himself. He didn't leave with the crowd, but waited for all of them to leave before he picked himself off the bench and walked out.
"I wonder where his loyalties lie," Articuno mumbled to herself. She trotted after him and 'accidentally bumped into him.
"Hey!" he shouted indignantly.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, setting a hand on his shoulder blade. "I have a nasty habit of not watching where I'm going. I'm really very sorry."
"Fine. Just let me through," he said, swiping her hand off of him. Articuno took her hand back and let him pass.
She looked down at her fingers, wiping them across each other like there was oil on them. She looked past a mother and child to look at the boy again. She shivered and wiped her fingers on her dress.
"Poor boy," she mumbled before blending into the crowd.
And there marks another chapter! Sorry for not updating for, like, ever! I tried to make the battle exciting, to enjoy. Or don't, whatever. Please review! Even if you hate it, I want to know why! Read on fellow authors! ~Ravinae